Princess Diana Remembered

In 1987, one of Princess Diana's bodyguards was killed in an horrific crash in South Woodford. Everyone assumed it was just a tragic accident. But was it? Reporter DANIEL BINNS decided to find out more.

Just after 9.30pm on a rainy May evening, Barry Mannakee was making his way back to his home in Loughton.

Mr Mannakee, an officer in Scotland Yard's diplomatic protection squad, had hitched a ride on the back of a colleague's motorbike, and the pair were zooming along Woodford High Road after a hard day at work.

But tragedy struck when a car suddenly pulled out of side road Hermitage Walk, forcing his colleague to swerve and skid in an attempt to avoid a collision, throwing Mr Mannakee from the bike in the process.

He smashed into the side of the car, and was so badly injured he died almost instantly.

The driver of the car, Nicola Chopp, was later fined £85 for careless driving by police, and an inquest ruled Mr Mannakee's death had been a tragic accident.

But not everyone was convinced.

Mr Mannakee had been mysteriously removed from his job as Princess Diana's bodyguard just eight months before, apparently for "overfamiliar behaviour" with his employer.

It is widely believed the pair had been having an affair.

And then, in 2004, a dramatic tape of Diana speaking about her former bodyguard's death sent shivers down conspiracy theorists' spines.

In the tapes, which were secretly recorded in 1992 by her voice coach Peter Settelen, Diana said she believed Mr Mannakee had been "bumped off" by the security services to avoid the embarrassment to the royal family of their infatuation.

Diana also said she was "deeply in love" with Mannakee and was "quite happy to give all this up and to just go off and live with him."

And just months after the tape emerged, Ms Chopp also said she doubted whether the crash was an accident.

Ms Chopp claimed she had been pressured by police into taking responsibility for the crash, with others pointing to an unknown car seen with "dazzling lights" at the scene, which some believe was there to deliberately distract both vehicles.

Mr Mannakee, who was 14 years older than Diana, had only been the Princess's bodyguard since 1985, with the pair quickly becoming the subject of public rumours.

However, Diana was regarded to have been suffering from psychological problems at the time the tape was recorded, and made a number of wild accusations at the time.

The mystery car has never been traced, but no evidence has ever been made public which Mr Mannakee's death was a conspiracy.

Investigations into the death have also emphatically ruled out foul play, and, as many residents of South Woodford well know, the High Road is a notorious spot for crashes.

The theories into the death will surely go on, but it does seem that the most plausible explanation is this was just another in a long line of tragic car crashes in east London.

Source : This is Local London.co.uk

Prince Harry has signalled his determination to follow in his late mother's footsteps by making his first political speech on the issue of Aids and global poverty.

Speaking at a reception to mark the third anniversary of his charity, Sentebale, the prince said he 'aspired' to follow Princess Diana's example in fighting for 'the deprived and afflicted'.

Harry, who has until now shied away from public speaking, told friends beforehand that 'my mother didn't mince her words and nor will I'.

The 24-year-old royal, whose charity supports Aids orphans and other vulnerable youngsters in the tiny, land-locked African kingdom of Lesotho, told his audience that its people were being 'threatened with destruction' by the problems facing them.

The country suffers from extreme poverty and has the third highest rate of HIV/Aids in the world, despite having a population of just 1.8 million people.

Currently there are around 400,000 children left orphaned by the disease and the figure is expected to rise dramatically as three per cent of the country's population are dying each year.

The Prince used his speech to call on the worldwide community to 'sit up and take notice' of what he described as a 'forgotten kingdom' which was being ravaged by death and disease.

Princess Diana turned royal protocol on its head when she chose to speak openly about causes close to her heart such as Aids and bereavement.

The highly-public campaign she was running against landmines at the time of her death in 1997 led some to describe her as a 'loose cannon' and object to her 'meddling' in political affairs, while others praised her for bringing the issue to international attention.

A source close to Harry said: 'This was his most outspoken speech yet. While he knows he needs to get more experience under his belt before he can project himself on the global stage as she did, the one thing he learnt from her was the value of being blunt. He knows the only way to solve the crisis facing Lesotho at the moment is to be blunt about its problems and blunt about the solutions needed.'

Harry set up Sentebale in the memory of his late mother with the aim of transforming the lives of  orphans in Lesotho following a trip to the region in his gap year.

Yesterday he proudly showed off one of its first success stories, which only a year ago was little more than a collection of run-down huts at the end of a dusty, rutted track, but now is a school for 52 profoundly disabled children.

This time last year Harry went out to Lesotho for three weeks with a group of men from the Household Cavalry to work on The Thuso Centre, which was in state of major disrepair.

The buildings have now been totally refurbished and filled with equipment for the children.

New electrics and plumbing have also been installed as has a new sceptic tank plus wheelchair ramps for the most severely disabled youngsters.

The entire building programme is set to cost more than £250,000 with much of the money has coming from the proceeds of the Diana Memorial Concert organised by Harry and his elder brother, William.

Sentebale has been on the receiving end of some negative publicity and seen public donations slump by 84 per cent to £250,000.

Its accounts show that by the end of last August the charity came close to going 'broke' with only £53,000 left in the bank while one local organisation working with physically and sexually abused children has accused the charity of failing to meet its commitments, an accusation vehemently denied by Sentebale executives.

Last night the prince, who recently flew to New York to raise the charity's profile, insisted that those issues were behind them as he toasted its success at a reception in London.

Harry met Sentebale supporters, staff and trustees and was joined by co-Patron Prince Seeiso of Lesotho.

Source : Daily Mail

A new book about Princess Diana called ‘Who Killed Diana’ is due to be released on September 7th.

Written by author Paschal Ikeme  and Priced at $ 14.33 ( £8.68) it is available to Pre – Order from Amazon.com

Prince William's girlfriend Kate Middleton is reportedly being pursued by BBC bosses for this year's Strictly Come Dancing.

The BBC are hoping to add some extra class to this year's Strictly Come Dancing by pursuing Prince William's girlfriend Kate Middleton.

Strictly pride themselves on their celebrity contestant selection and would see securing 27-year-old Middleton as a real coup.  The added pressure of direct competition from a Sunday night results show for The X Factor this year means that the show is out to get the best possible stars.

A show insider told The Star, “Kate is top of our list of dream signings this year... She’s the type of person we’d love to have. She oozes sex appeal but is also a firm favourite with women who admire the way she has conducted her relationship with William.”  The couple have been dating since they met at St Andrew's University in 2001.  Recent reports that the couple holidayed together under the name 'Mr and Mrs Smith' and the news that Kate has been invited to spend August bank holiday at Balmoral with the Queen and Prince Philip have fuelled romours of an impending royal engagement.

Celebrities rumoured to be taking part in the new series of Strictly Come Dancing which kicks off this autumn include former X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne, Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles, presenter Adrian Chiles, football pundit Teddy Sheringham and boxer Joe Calzaghe.

Source : STV.tv

Justin Timberlake wants Britain's Prince William to wear jeans from his label.

The 'SexyBack' singer has revealed the 27-year-old royal is just the sort of person he wants to sport jeans from his William Rast clothing line.

He said: "Do you know who we're trying to get into a pair of our jeans? Prince William - he'd look pretty cool in Rast. And Harry too."

Justin shouldn't have too much trouble persuading the prince to done a pair of his trousers - in 2007 it was reported the pair were planning to play a game of golf together.

A source said at the time: "William is a huge fan of Justin and wants to go and see him while he is performing in the UK. He also wants to meet up with him the day after and hopes they'll play some golf.

"Wills wants to take some time out from partying and enjoy some sport. One of his passions is golf and he knows Justin is practically a professional."

Should William venture out in a pair of the denims it would not be the first time the royals have been at the forefront of fashion.

Last year, Princess Anne and Queen Elizabeth embraced the trend for recycling clothes by wearing old outfits to official engagements.

Anne wore the 27-year-old dress she sported to the wedding of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana to a wedding last July, while the queen fashion 20-year-old fabric into a dress she wore during a state visit to Slovenia and Slovakia.

Source : Monsters and Critics.com

Today is Princess Diana’s birthday, she would have been 48 years old .

I hope she will be partying in heaven with her friend Michael Jackson

Happy Birthday Diana  x

We all miss you

A TEENAGER who started boxing two years ago to boost his confidence will meet the Prime Minister after winning an award for the difference he has made to the club.

Tom Orrell will be picking up a Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Award from Gordon Brown for his volunteering and mentoring service to other young people.

Teacher Sam Godfrey, who runs the Merrill College boxing club, nominated 17-year-old Tom for the award because of the work he has done with the club and young people he works with.

"Tom is a breath of fresh air," said Mr Godfrey. "He came to the club to improve his self-esteem and to get fit.

"He has ended up being a friend and mentor to all the youngsters who come along.

"He is now equally involved in coaching the young people because he has taken his Amateur Boxing Association tutor award."

Mr Godfrey is particularly impressed by Tom's willingness to give up so much of his spare time to help out with the club.

He said: "There are not many young people who would be willing to work as hard and take what he does so seriously. I know that I can always rely on him."

Tom said he knew nothing about the nomination for the award until an envelope dropped through the door to tell him he would be receiving the award in a ceremony on July 9.

He said: "I was completely shocked to be nominated, much less to be successful.

"I started going to the club originally to learn something new and found myself getting more involved.

"But I do the mentoring because I love doing it and I never expected any reward for it."

Tom helps out after school and also at evening events and in the holidays as well.

He said: "It's a rewarding thing to do, especially when you see some of the people improving their boxing and gaining confidence at the same time.

"People arrive and are very shy but within a couple of weeks are brimming with confidence and they are also keeping fit."

Tom (below) takes his A-levels next summer and is hoping to join the police force.

"

But I don't want to give up my involvement in boxing," he said.

Head teacher Roger Shipton said he was delighted that Tom would be travelling to London to get his award.

He said: "Tom's work is helping the children of Allenton, Alvaston, Sinfin and Normanton to enjoy themselves and keep fit.

"He has a natural ability working with youngsters and has built up a great relationship with all of the children who really look up to him as a role model."

The awards were set up in 1999 to recognised individuals or small groups of 12-to-18-year-olds for being peer mentors, fund-raisers or overcoming adversity.

Source : This is Derbyshire.co.uk

I was contacted this week by Kufena Coulter who is associate producer at TV Production Company Monkey Kingdom, who have been asked by the UK’S Channel 4 to research and develop a tribute documentary to commemorate Princess Diana's funeral.

So I thought I would take the opportunity to ask Kufena a few questions about the programme and what they are looking for.

I’d like to thank Kufena for taking the time to answer my questions.

Patricia : Please could you tell us a little about yourself.

Kufena : I work for a television company called Monkey Kingdom. We make a range of factual
and entertainment programmes for all the main UK broadcasters.

Patricia : How long have you been working for Monkey Kingdom ?

Kufena : I am freelance, so I work at a number of different places. I have been working here on
and off for eighteen months.

Patricia : Could you tell us about the programme about Princess Diana's funeral you are working on ?

Kufena : At the moment we are just in the research and development stage. Channel 4 want to make
a film to commemorate the 15th anniversary of Diana's funeral. I know that seems a long way
off but these things take time to make.

The idea of the documentary would be to recount the day from the point of view of the members of the public who were there. We are looking for people who filmed the day on their own home video cameras.

We would like to weave their footage into the film and hear them talk about their individual experiences of that remarkable day.

Patricia : You are looking for people with footage of Diana's footage to take part in the programme,
could you tell us what else you are looking for ? 

Kufena : People who will share their experiences of the funeral day, of how they felt about Diana's death, how they feel about it fifteen years later and what memories are conjured up when they watch their old footage now.

Patricia : What should people do to contact you if they would like to take part in the programme ?

Kufena : They can send me an email at kufenac@monkeykingdom.com or telephone me on 0207 749 3169

Patricia : Could you tell us what the programme is going to be called and when it will be shown on TV ?

Kufena : There is no title yet, that's often the last piece of the jigsaw. It's just research at the moment.

If we don't find any footage we won't be able to make the programme!

Patricia : Do you think it is important that programmes about Princess Diana are continued to be made ?

Kufena : Diana will never be forgotten - I think it's what people want.

Patricia : What are your memories of the day of Princess Diana's funeral ? 

Kufena : I remember being up in Scotland at the time and watching the funeral on television.
It was a very strange and moving day. What struck me more than anything was how incredibly well her two boys carried themselves that day and how awful it must have been for them to have to go through that in front of millions of people.

Patricia : Do you think Michael Jackson's funeral will be bigger than Diana's ?

Kufena : It’s hard to say. I am sure they will be very different events.

So if you went to Princess Diana’s funeral and have any video footage from that day and would like the chance to appear on television, please contact Kufena by sending an email to : kufenac@monkeykingdom.com or telephoning 0207 749 3169

* Interview property of Princess Diana Remembered.com *

*Not to be copied and used on any other websites*

Thousands of items from the old Indianapolis International Airport will be on the auction block this summer.

Among the items will be a series of 35 framed posters of Princess Diana illustrating her life and times.

The auction is to be held on August 4th at 10 am at  2500 S High School Rd Indianapolis, INDIANA.

Source : Inside Indiana Business.com

Prince William has joked that Prince Harry doesn’t pull his weight with household chores.

The pair have a bachelor pad at the Clarence House estate.

'Bearing in mind I cook, I feed him every day, I think he's done very well,' Wills, 26, tells the Daily Mail.

'Harry does do washing up but then he leaves most of it in the sink.

'And then I come back in the morning and I have to wash it up.

'I do a fair bit of tidying up after him. He snores a lot too. He keeps me up all night long.'

Harry, 24, then replied: 'Oh God, they'll think we share a bed now. We're brothers not lovers!' 

Source : Now Magazine.co.uk